Peter wept, Judas died—but what made the difference between repentance and regret? Explore the powerful contrast between Peter and Judas, understanding how godly grief leads to repentance and salvation, while worldly grief leads to death. When Peter wept bitterly, his sorrow led him back to Christ, but when Judas experienced regret, his grief without repentance ultimately led him to destruction. Understanding the difference between repentance and regret is essential for every believer.
https://youtu.be/GhpkEye1qS0
Table of contentsAn X-Ray Machine for the Heart Would Be Needed for Peter and JudasTwo Kinds of Faith and GriefPeter’s Godly Grief Produced RepentanceWorldly Grief (Unrepentance) Can Produce Multiple DeathsJudas’s Worldly Grief Produced His DeathWe Underestimate the Consequences of SinWhen Peter Pleased the LordExperiencing Regret Isn’t RepentanceWhat Made Peter Repentant But Judas Unrepentant?
Earlier this year, Charis was playing in her very first and last softball game. She was running around the bases, and when she slid into home, the catcher fell on the lower half of her leg. She screamed, “I broke my leg.” Turns out she was right. One of the most common conflicts in our marriage concerns how hurt our children truly are. Katie says I always say two words: “They’re fine.” I feel like she always thinks they’re about to die. Maybe other marriages experience the same.
The X-ray machine was invented on November 8, 1895. Thank God Katie and I were not married before that, because I can only imagine the arguments we would have about whether our children’s bones were broken or not.
Before the advent of the X-ray machine, doctors had to rely on observation, palpation, and patient symptoms to diagnose broken bones. Can you imagine having a broken bone and the doctor wants to diagnose it by pushing on the area to see if he can find the break?
An X-Ray Machine for the Heart Would Be Needed for Peter and Judas
Imagine there was an X-ray machine that allowed us to look into people, not to see their bones, but to see their hearts, and in particular, whether they are repentant:
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
If I can push this analogy a little further, imagine that instead of seeing whether people had broken bones, we could see whether they had broken hearts. Without this, we are like doctors before the X-ray machine: we are forced to guess. The difficulty is that people may appear outwardly repentant without being truly repentant inwardly. Let me illustrate this by asking who I’m describing below:
A well-known man received one of the most unique opportunities in all of history when Jesus asked him to become one of the twelve disciples. In accepting the invitation, he was able to be with the Son of God day and night. He became a student of the world’s greatest Teacher. When Jesus’ enemies tried to trap Him with penetrating questions, he heard Jesus’ profound theological answers. He saw miracles that showed Jesus’s authority over death, nature, demons, and disease. Jesus gave him some of the same divine power to cast out demons and perform miracles that Jesus Himself used. This man witnessed Jesus’ love, grace, and mercy firsthand. But after experiencing all this, only hours before Jesus’s crucifixion, he betrayed Jesus in a strong, convincing way. Then he felt great sorrow.
If you say Judas, you are right. If you say Peter, you are right. Judas betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders for money. Peter denied knowing Jesus to save himself. Is there much difference between betraying Jesus and denying Him? Not really! And they were both really grieved about it later. In fact, I would argue that Judas looked even more grieved than Peter.
So here’s the critical question: how could a man be as grieved as Judas, yet remain unrepentant? The answer is in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10: